Tag Archives: Not Impressed With Our Debt

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It’s been an interesting two weeks. I didn’t think I would get much extra debt paid off this month because I have Town/County taxes to pay, our planes tickets for our trip to Ireland to save for and now these medical bills which just got bigger today.

But get this… we had an unexpected surge of cash this week which lent me to paying our taxes in full (Thank you to Him!), that’s one off the list. We have saved about $500 for plane tickets so far and from the advice of our pastor I am going to apply for a grant through the hospital to help pay for the medical bills from that emergency room visit. We will see what happens.

Remember when I posted about reading all the mail you get? A few weeks ago I got another set of checks from our credit card company where I could use the checks to pay off anything I wanted and the interest rate would be just 2.99% for a full year.

I thought a lot about those checks and I even called the credit card company which was through our credit union and asked about the details. They were in fact valid checks and I could use them for anything.

So after really thinking about it, I decided to sit down with my favorite Credit Union rep yesterday and I asked her what she thought about paying off our Home Equity Line of Credit with one of the checks.

She said “well it would certainly save you a lot of money in interest.” The interest rate on the loan was 15% and the amount I owed was still the exact same amount ($5000) since I took it out 8 years ago. I took the line of credit out in 2010 to pay for the equipment to start my bakery and I still owed the same amount because I kept drawing from it.

Without even thinking about it anymore I told her to do it. I wrote the check and she gave me my receipt and I paid it off. In my mind it’s one more thing that’s done. Yes, it’s on a “credit card” but if you use them correctly they can actually set you free of debt. I have one year to pay it off before the interest rate goes up and believe me I intend to do just that.

Every day I work on our debt. Every day. You have to stay on top of things my friends. Keep working and using your magic to get out of debt. There will never be a dull moment!

I paid off the Old Navy card!! All $2048.00 left on it. In full. Felt amazing!

Now for the not so great news… Remember that emergency room visit I had in November? I am getting a whopping bill for over $3500 from the hospital from it. That’s after insurance took care of only about a $1000 of it. Gotta love that high deductible plan we all have right?

I was devastated at first but not for long. We have to keep going. I will get that $3500 paid off next is all. I am not worrying a single second about it. Yes it sucks but the Old Navy is gone and it’s never coming back.

We accomplished paying off $6500 in debt in 5 months. That’s a reason to celebrate in my book!

I hope you all had a very Happy Christmas and please enjoy your New Year. It’s always a new beginning. -MM

The last two weeks have been eye opening for me. If you have not suffered from anxiety, panic attacks and/or had large amounts of stress in your life consider yourself lucky.

While working to pay down our debt (which is stressful enough) Life has thrown us multiple curve balls since September.

When people are under large amounts of stress we tend to forget to take care of ourselves. Doctor’s appointments get missed, we don’t eat right, we certainly don’t get enough sleep and our families, God bless them, get the brunt of our stress and frustration full on.

Two weeks ago I landed myself in the emergency room for uncontrolled nausea and stomach discomfort. I couldn’t stop shaking and I couldn’t get warm. I wanted to crawl out of my skin. It got worse if I tried to lay down. I was crying and miserable and my husband, the wonderful man, was trying his best to calm me down.

After multiple tests and pumping fluids into my system the only thing they came up with was slightly low potassium. They handed me 4 potassium pills and miraculously within an hour the shaking, nausea and discomfort subsided. Hmm..

They aren’t really sure what caused all of this because my levels were all pretty good. What I suspect? Panic attacks, anxiety, and pure stress. My body is just shot from all of it. I can’t seem to handle any kind of stress right now, which is a real bummer because I have always considered myself a very strong person.

I am making some changes in my life that should drastically cut down on my stress level after the new year.

I plan on taking care of myself better and work harder to make sure my marriage stays strong and that my boys are all happy, well fed and feel loved.

I will not stop trying to pay off our debt. It is still my number one goal for the new year but goals are different than priorities.

As we get older we tend to get more forgetful they say. I say we are just getting more and more distracted by stuff around us.

We women especially have so many things going through our brains that we tend to do things on autopilot. Am I right ladies?

A great example of this autopilot thing is constantly misplacing my debit card. Yikes, right? Misplacing ones debit card is never good and trying to figure out where the hell you last had it is even worse.

I misplace my debit card at least once a month. I hate my debit card. I want to use cash again exclusively but that card is so darn convenient.

So how do I misplace my debit card so often you ask? Shouldn’t it be in my wallet which is in my purse? I hate purses and wallets too. I am a “carry it in my back pocket” kind of girl. I wouldn’t even own a purse if I didn’t need it to carry my chapstick and gum.

Here in lies the problem. I take my debit card out to pay for something on-line and forget to put it back. I take it out to pay for my lunch at the store because I don’t want to lug my purse with me into the breakroom then I forget to put it back. Then it gets washed because I forget to take it out of my pocket at the end of the day and God forbid but my husband refuses to check pockets before he puts things in the washing machine. Yes, I know it’s my own fault.

The other day after missing it for almost a week I found it in a pair of pants I didn’t even wear because I was too lazy to iron them. I have no idea why I would even put it in those pants but it happened. And then I lost it again a week later but found it in my stupid purse in a pocket I swear I checked at least three times. I think God just thinks it’s a hoot watching me search for it.

So what does this all have to do with debt other than it’s funny hearing about my debit card follies?

Going through life, especially when it comes to managing your debt on autopilot is part of our debt problem. We are not paying attention to our money. We have no idea sometimes where it goes or what we have spent it on.

Sometimes I ask my husband where the money went that he had yesterday and he usually says he has no idea. In fact he took a friend to breakfast a few weeks ago and when I saw the bill it was over $50. For breakfast? What the heck did you eat?? I asked him. We tried to figure out what would have cost that much and seriously couldn’t figure it out. How easy was it to just swipe that debit card? He was just on autopilot, probably chatting away and just added a tip and signed his name, not even looking at the bill.

We all spend our money frivolously and on autopilot at times. Every day we go to the same coffee shop, and buy our gas at the same gas station or take our books back to the library and pay a $1 fine and not think a thing of it.

I think that’s why when we talk about debt we aren’t spending money on large purchases most of the time. It’s the autopilot purchases that really get us into trouble. Large purchases we think about first and plan for and try to get the best price. Our vacations, vehicles, homes and furniture are planned items.

I have been seeing posts on Instagram lately from people that are using cash envelopes for their monthly spending. We used to use cash envelopes and it worked great. We were mostly debt free too. However, this was before easy access to on-line shopping and smart phones, which are huge contributing factors to debt for all of us.

Here is a challenge for you: when you are buying something, anything, pay attention to what you are doing. Just be aware. Don’t buy your groceries while talking to your best friend on your cell phone. Don’t go shopping at the mall and get up to the counter to pay for that new sweater all the while searching for your husband’s Christmas gift on Amazon on your phone. In fact put your phone in your purse and say hello to the cashier and pay attention to what you are buying and how much it costs.

I will have to attach a large key chain to my debit card like the ones you get at a gas station when you want to use the bathroom. Seriously!

October has been a much more productive month in terms of paying down our debt.

In September we had to pay our school taxes and when you are living paycheck to paycheck saving for them is tough.

With those taxes behind us for another year I was able to make bigger payments on that darn Old Navy balance. Not quite what I was hoping for but still a huge amount for us!

Here we go, the results!

Last month our Old Navy balance ended as $4,410. This month our balanced is now down to $2900!! We got $1510 paid off in 31 days!

Now to the total debt for the month.

We started off the month with a total debt of $32,483.00. Right now on the 31st (Happy Halloween by the way!) our total debt is down to $30,531.00. We paid off $1,952.

Not bad!

Since we started this debt pay down journey in August we have paid off a whopping $5393 in just 14 weeks!

Seems pretty amazing to me since, like I said, we are used to living paycheck to paycheck.

I wish we could have paid off more. Even when we commit to paying down debt things still come up in life we don’t expect and for my family the past couple of month have been exhausting and a bit heartbreaking.

As they always say though, Keep Calm and Carry On.

Last week on Week 13 I took a break and did not post. Not much to really report but I plan on plowing through the next few weeks with more info and hopefully some videos!

Have a great rest of your week and try not to eat all of your children’s candy tonight.-MM

Ladies, has your husband or significant other ever packed your things for a trip? We were participating in a friend’s wedding this weekend and like usual I got hung up at the bakery and didn’t have time to pack anything for myself the night before.

Scott had to pack for me (he is such a good sport), I rushed home from work, jumped in the car with him and we took off for our three hour drive to the rehearsal, with me still clothed in bakery stained work attire.

I have to admit he did a pretty good job throwing all of my make-up and clothes in a bag for me. He even remembered the phone chargers!

But I groaned a bit when I saw the underwear he grabbed for me. Not that anyone but him was going to see me in them, but the elastic is shot on them and well, they are not one of my go to pairs if you know what I mean.

Then I thought to myself, why the hell do I still have them then?

Why do we keep ill fitting clothes? The faded, stretched out, torn, elastic shot clothes that we would be mortified if someone saw us wearing them?

I don’t really have an answer for that. Maybe we just dont want to be wasteful?

I have struggled with clothes lately. Because of our debt pay down plan I have had tremendous guilt about buying anything for myself.

With my new second job as a legal secretary though I need to have some decent clothes so I tried one of those home delivery box services where they send you clothes to your specifications and individual tastes.

The reason why I decided to try the home delivery is that going to the malls is too time consuming working seven days a week, the clothes never fit me properly and the styles malls offer lack imagination. The thrift stores, while cheap, still limit me greatly.

I have to say I was completely impressed with what the home delivery sent me. I got a pair of jeans a shirt, a blouse, a bracelet and a long sweater.

The cost of the box was more than what I am used to paying, but then again I have also been getting my clothes from thrift stores mostly.

I felt great going to work in my new clothes and you know what? I don’t feel too guilty about it. I kept all the clothes because I loved all of them and I will do it again!

Hubby also got a new pair of shoes for the wedding which he really needed and we took advantage of the huge store closing sale at our Bed, Bath and Beyond store to invest in some decent sheet sets because of course ours were torn and stretched out and scratchy.

But the good news is that I didn’t use the credit card to buy any of it. We used our debit card and I still got a large payment made to the Old Navy card this week and we are able to double our contribution to our 401k which our employer matches.

I have been putting a lot of pressure on myself to pay off this debt quickly but I have to remind myself that there are going to be things we need to take advantage of when we can to save money in the long run.

You may wonder if we use a written budget to stay on track with our debt.

I have tried many things over the years and while a written budget with fancy spreadsheets or instant calculation apps are exciting at first, they lose their excitement for me after a few weeks.

The only thing that has worked for me is a good old fashioned hand written notebook. I love lined notebooks. I love the potential of what can be written down on those blank pages.

Each month I write down by week what I need to pay when, taking into consideration due dates and the amounts of the payments.

Here is a generic example of what my schedule looks like this month:

Pay days for us are Wednesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. Having four jobs and all different paydays helps us feel like we are not living paycheck to paycheck.

You may notice that our mortgage is weekly. This is because with so many other big payments its easier to save weekly for our mortgage rather than pay it in one large sum.

Old Navy will be paid four times this month. I plan on sticking to that unless something else comes up that is an emergency.

Please keep in mind this is only the payments that are due each month. I don’t consider this a budget. This does not include school lunches and haircuts and doctor visits and repairs and entertainment and gifts, etc.

This schedule tells me what I HAVE to pay. As one debt goes away it frees us up to put more into savings and repairs and such. After the Old Navy is paid my husband and I will be redirecting some of that money into more savings and retirement.

Well that’s about it. This is what I look at every Wednesday to see what needs to be paid first before we do other things.

I am used to it so it doesn’t scare me anymore!

What do you do for a schedule to pay your bills? Do you do something similar?

I am your typical housewife living in high maintenance suburbia. I have a handsome husband, 2 kids and a flock of pet chickens. I try and feed my family with $100 a month. With the help of coupons, gardening and bartering I am able to squeeze the most out of our grocery budget and still manage to have a little fun along the way.